Ricoh has finally put a date on the most collectible GR in years. The RICOH GR IV 30th Anniversary Edition, teased on July 9, 2026 with little more than a colour scheme and an “autumn 2026” window, is set to arrive on October 21 — the anniversary of the day the original film GR1 reached shops in October 1996.
Mechanically there is no surprise here, and that is the point: the anniversary camera is a standard GR IV underneath, with the changes confined to finish, packaging and a pile of commemorative extras. Production is capped at 6,000 units worldwide, which for a camera line that sells out its ordinary runs is the number that will really shape the story.
What separates it from a shop-shelf GR IV:
- Shutter release and rear buttons in a paint colour lifted from the plating of the original GR1
- A dedicated power-off screen carrying the GR 30th anniversary design
- Ring cap GN-3 (30th) with a diamond-cut finish
- A leather finger strap, GS-4 (30th), engraved “30th Anniversary”
- A metal hot shoe cover, GK-2 (30th), in the same anniversary design
- A pin badge set of 16 pins — 14 depicting past GR models, one with the 30th anniversary logo, one with the GR logo
That pin set is the giveaway that Ricoh knows exactly who is buying this. Fourteen badges is a family portrait of the line, from the 1996 film compact through the digital GRs, handed to the sort of owner who keeps the box. It is merchandise, yes, but it is merchandise with a chronology.
Pricing remains the loose thread. Ricoh’s own specification chart still lists the camera at “open price”, the Japanese convention that leaves the number to retailers, so there is no official figure attached to the kit. In the UK, Wex Photo Video has the Ricoh GR IV 30th Anniversary Limited Edition open for pre-order at £1,499.00, on a first-come waiting list with no payment taken until stock lands.
The underlying camera is the one launched in 2025 and reviewed to death since: a 25.74MP back-illuminated APS-C sensor behind a redesigned 18.3mm f/2.8 GR lens (28mm equivalent), ISO 100–204,800, five-axis sensor-shift stabilisation, a 3-inch LCD and roughly 53GB of internal memory alongside a microSD slot, in a 262g body that still slides into a coat pocket.
Anniversary editions live or die on restraint, and Ricoh has shown some: no gold plating, no reworked grip, no new sensor to justify the badge. Just the GR1’s button colour, a diamond-cut ring and a tin of pins — on a camera whose whole point has always been that it disappears in the hand.
Earlier on GismoLand: Ricoh GR IV 30th Anniversary Edition. A love letter to the GR1.
